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I have a little problem. I'm addicted to cookbooks, food writing, recipe collecting, and cooking. I have a lot of recipes waiting for me to try them, and ideas from articles, tv, and restaurants often lead to new dishes. I started losing track of what I've done. So now I'm taking photos and writing about what I've prepared—unless it's terrible in which case I forget it ever happened.

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Thursday, February 9, 2012

The sunny colors and starburst pattern make it hard to believe this is the winter version of this tart. It’s from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table. She discovered this tart at her friends’ bed-and-breakfast outside Dijon which is fitting because the tart is flavored with that region’s mustard. There’s Dijon as well as grainy mustard, or moutard a l’ancienne, in the custard, and they bring a brightness that’s unexpected but lovely. The original version of the tart was topped with either slices of big tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes. I’ll have to wait a few months to try it that way, but I can imagine how good that will be too. When tomatoes aren’t in season, the tart can be topped as it is here with julienned pieces of carrots and leeks. I served this for Sunday brunch, but it would also be great for lunch or dinner with a little salad on the side.

The recipe in the book is written for a nine to nine and a half inch tart, but my round tart pan is eleven inches. I need more tart pans. To work with what I have, I did some quick math to scale up the ingredient quantities. To fit an eleven inch pan instead of a nine inch pan, all quantities need to be multiplied by one and a half. First, the tart shell was blind-baked and cooled. Meanwhile, the carrots and leeks were prepped. They were cut into skinny sticks and then steamed for a few minutes. Depending on how skinny you cut your vegetables, you’ll need to adjust the steaming time. Mine were pretty slim and became tender in the steamer in no time. A rosemary sprig was added while they steamed. Then, the vegetables were drained and patted dry. The custard was made with eggs, cream, Dijon mustard, grainy mustard, and salt and pepper. Dorie cautions you to taste before adding much salt since the mustards bring salt as well. And, you should taste for the mustard to be sure the flavor is strong enough and add more as needed. The custard was poured into the tart shell, and the carrots and leeks were arranged on top. A fresh sprig of rosemary was set on top before the tart went into the oven for about 30 minutes.

The custard takes some of the edge off the sharpness of the mustards, but their savoriness is unmistakable. It really worked to wake up the other flavors. And, those thin pieces of carrot and leek were tender enough after steaming to easily cut through them with a fork for each bite. It was perfect in its simplicity, and I’m glad there are two versions so I can make this year-round.

I read the title of this post in my RSS reader and was thinking how you always have dishes that sound so fabulous! I was in mid-thought when I clicked the link and my jaw *literally* dropped at your gorgeous photo. Breathtaking! I'm off to share this one on Facebook!

Gorgeous! What a great way to use the veggies of the season...which by now, I'm getting a teensy bit weary of. The French do love to use mustard in tarts (and on bread, and fries), and I love that this one uses two different ones. I'm making this!

This is so beautiful Lisa. As I've gotten older, my adoration of mustard has increased - I know I would love this tart. I really like making tarts for special dinners. Have you gotten a new camera? Your pictures are especially gorgeous.

This is a stunning presentation with so many beautiful colors. I want to make this right now. I unfortunately don't have that cookbook, but have heard amazing things about it! Nice to meet you and look forward to reading more of our gorgeous posts!

Lisa, what a magnificent, stunning tart! It looks like dessert! I absolutely go nuts for dishes like this that take humble winter vegetables and kick them up into something so flavorful and fabulous. Great recipe and beautiful job!

That's exquisite! You are amazing, Lisa. I'm going out to the kitchen and measure my tart pans. I know I have a rectangular one. It should work in that as well.I really must go back and look at all my markers in Dorie's book. I don't even remember this!

How pretty! I love brightly colored foods in the dead of winter, especially with these grey days we've been having. I'm sure this tart was delicious as it certainly looks so- reminds me I need to pull that book off the shelf again. It's been awhile since I perused it.

I HAVE to make this. Mustard is a favorite to begin with, and I love tarts in general. With Dorie, you can't go wrong, but goodness -- you've really created something beautiful. (Definitely get more tart pans -- they're so fun to experiment with.)